5 things you can do to reduce stress, improve happiness

Nobody likes being stressed out, but did you know that stress can actually have a negative impact on your health?

In short, stress activates the fight-or-flight system in your brain, which dumps stress hormones into your body. These hormones can overwhelm the brain’s pre-frontal cortex, which is the part of our brains that make rational choices. Moreover, negative emotions actually activate the brain’s reward center. The result? It’s easy to become increasingly overwhelmed with stress, and it becomes harder to find the calmness you need to not only feel better, but make good decisions about your life.

But, there are a few lifestyle changes that can help you reduce your stress and ultimately increase your happiness -- no prescription required.

1. Send fewer texts, give more hugs

Neuroscientists who study how our brains process emotion have found that by changing the way we interact with people we care about can help increase happiness and decrease stress.

We are a society that increasingly relies on technology to communicate; Facebook and messaging seem to make it easier to talk to people we don’t see very often, if ever. But ironically, electronic communication may make us less connected than before. A nice, long hug releases oxytocin (a.k.a. the “love/bonding hormone”), which goes a long way towards reducing the activity of the parts of the brain that like to flood our bodies with stress hormones.

Studies also show that a phone call (versus texting) with a loved one can reduce stress. It isn’t physical contact, but it is a connection, and being able to hear the tone and inflection in the voice on the other end of the line creates that feeling of connection and enhances compassion.

2. Put a name to your feelings

Research shows the logical, calm part of the brain is often outmatched by the emotional, reactive part, which makes it easy to fall into a stress spiral. Negative emotions like guilt and shame can actually activate the reward centers of the brain, which just reinforces those feelings, making it that much harder to calm our stress by trying to stay positive.

Neuroscience research tells us there are ways to boost the parts of our brains that bring us happiness. The first step is to label our feelings. It sounds a little too easy, doesn’t it? However, simply giving bad feelings a name reduces their impact on the brain, making them easier to deal with. When you’re in a calmer state, you’re better able to make decisions about issues causing stress.

3. Minimize worrying by making decisions

Decision-making engages the rational thinking brain and lessens the involvement of the more reactive emotional brain. But don’t let trying to make a decision become part of the stress. The idea isn’t to solve every problem right away, it’s just to let your brain move into a more rational space. Making a decision, even a small one, that is ‘good enough’ (not ‘the best decision ever’) will allow your brain to enter a calmer pattern, which will allow you to come up with further long-term plans and move forward with intention.

4. Focus on gratitude

Sure, it might be hard to focus on what you’re grateful for when you’re feeling upset and stressed out. But, gratitude boosts the production of dopamine and serotonin, which contribute to our feelings of happiness. Gratitude for the people around us also increases enjoyment with social interactions, which in turn creates a positive feedback loop with our relationships. Consider keeping a gratitude journal – each day, write down three things you’re grateful for.

5. Practice a sense of wonderment

For thousands of years, people have been using meditation to keep their brains in a calm state.

For years I would recommend meditation to my patients who had chronic pain or anxiety because the evidence showed that it was helpful. However, I never personally did it myself until I took a course offered by our physician group called “Embracing Your Path to Mindfulness.” We talked about the science behind meditation and learned different ways to meditate as a way to improve emotional resilience and prevent burnout. Afterwards, I thought about how I was going to incorporate these lessons into my daily life, and what I realized is that I had actually been practicing mindfulness on my commute into work on my bike. My path takes me over the Willamette River, which means I spend my time getting to work looking at herons, osprey and absorbing the awesome sights and sounds of nature. I realized that I’m being mindful and present as a habit in my daily routine.

As I focused more on being present in the moment, I enjoyed less angst and worry about things beyond my control and learned how slowing down resulted in more meaningful interactions with my family, patients and friends.

Incorporating mindfulness into your daily routine does not have to be time-consuming. Carving out 10-15 minutes daily of quiet, focused breathing and time to yourself is ideal. Let the thoughts or worries of the day come in and accept them without judgment. There are phone apps that can help you get started, like “Calm,” “Stop, Breathe, and Think,” and “Headspace.”

We hope these self-care tips help curb your stress while increasing your happiness.

Dr. Suzanne Deschamps(Photo: Kaiser Permanente)

Dr. Suzanne Deschamps is a primary care physician with Kaiser Permanente in West Salem.

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